Van Persie and Young on target as United beat Cardiff

Manchester United bounced back from their Capital One Cup disappointment by beating bottom of the table Cardiff City 2-0 at Old Trafford yesterday evening.

The hosts took the lead on just six minutes through Robin Van Persie, who was making his first appearance since early December before doubling their advantage just ahead of the hour mark when Ashley Young fired in from 25 yards.

Juan Mata, who had a couple of decent opportunities to score, was largely impressive on his debut, making more successful passes than of all his teammates, while he also had a hand in Young’s goal.

Wayne Rooney came off the bench to make his first appearance since New Year’s Day, and almost added a third with a lob late on.

David Moyes’ men remain in seventh place, six points behind fourth place Liverpool, who thumped Everton 4-0 in the Merseyside derby while the only other side above them to play last night were leaders Arsenal, who were held to a 2-2 draw at Southampton.

This evening, third place Chelsea host West Ham United while second place Manchester City make the trip to fifth place Tottenham Hotspur.

United’s next game is their trip to Stoke City on Saturday afternoon.